Development Roundup: J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot to produce sci-fi time-travel film with Paramount, Justin Bieber to develop and star in animated Cupid film

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Paramount and Bad Robot are set to produce a sci-fi film from Jared Moshe, while Justin Bieber will lend his voice acting talents to an animated film about Cupid in this development-news twofer.

First up, Paramount has bought the sci-fi spec script Aporia from writer Moshe, who is also set to direct, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film will be produced by J.J. Abrams’ production company Bad Robot and Neda Armian.

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Since it’s a Bad Robot production, the plot for Aporia is still firmly tucked into Abrams’ Mystery Box machinations. Which is to say, they’re not telling us what it’s about (apart from it being “a grounded sci-fi drama with time-travel elements”).

Moshe previously wrote and directed the Western thriller The Ballad of Lefty Brown starring Bill Pullman and Peter Fonda. He made his feature debut with the Western Dead Man’s Burden.

Courtesy of Lou Stejskal

The nascent Mythos Studios has announced it is developing an animated film based on Cupid with singing superstar and professional heartbreaker Justin Bieber. Bieber is set to star as the voice of Cupid, the legendary winged god of love from classical mythology, as well as executive-produce the project.

“When this project was brought to Justin, he instantly was excited to be a part of it,” said Mythos Studios co-founder Scooter Braun in a statement. “Fortunately for us, like Cupid, he knows a little bit about love and mischief.”

Bieber teased the project on social media Tuesday:

“Both myself and Scooter have a lifelong love of mythology and we are so excited to partner with Justin to bring the amazing, magical story of Cupid to the world," said Mythos Studios co-founder David Maisel.

Launched in March, Mythos Studios was formed by David Maisel, founding chairman of Marvel Studios, and SB Projects founder and music manager Scooter Braun. Considering Braun is Bieber’s manager, it’s not surprising that the singer-songwriter is involved in this project.

In addition to Cupid (the film’s current working title), Mythos Studios has two projects in active development based on franchises from Aspen Comics (of which Mythos Studios owns a 50% stake): Fathom and Soulfire.